26 Comments
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Hannah Diaz's avatar

At 38, I can say with certainty that every decision that truly changed my life (the ones that rocketed me off the mundane program society laid out) were also the scariest.

The biggest risks.

The moments where I followed a deep, intuitive knowing that made no logical sense at all.

Quitting the job.

Taking the leap.

Traveling without a plan.

All of it.

Our logical minds were trained for 12+ years to think in a way that benefits the machine, not the individual.

So if I have any advice for the younger audience on here, it’s this: trust your wild intuition.

Don’t be afraid to do what seems completely illogical. That’s usually where the magic begins.

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DAN KOE's avatar

🔥🫡

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Bolu Aregbesola's avatar

Hmm. Thought provoking.

Loved the storytelling too, haven't heard that before.

BTW, that 3 million dollar mistake got something to do with Kortex?

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Joe Mills's avatar

Took me 60+ years to make the decision, now look out world! Thanks, Dan!

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Life_learner's avatar

Joe & David I’m going to squeeze in between you both at 55. 😁

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Dave McCloskey's avatar

Making me feel quick at 40 😀

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Joe Mills's avatar

lol!

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Ridwan's avatar

This essay really resonates.

I'm 18 right now, I'll be 19 by December and I've made the conscious decision to take the path that's less taken by most people. The uncertain path, the hard one. And honestly I've been loving it.

Doing hard things, making mistakes, failing and learning. I'm really enjoying the process and it seems like i might just play this game to the very end.

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David Aldred's avatar

Dan, I sure hope the "$3 million" mistake you refer to is not Kortex....

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Richard S McGown's avatar

I think you might want to consider "hurtling" instead of "hurling".

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/hurtling

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Macro Polo's avatar

If you're describing throwing something, use "hurling."

If you're describing something moving quickly, use "hurtling."

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Richard S McGown's avatar

Exactly. He references somebody moving quickly down the wrong path. In context, I think he means hurtling as in down the tracks.

"You're hurtling down the wrong path," not hurling.

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Twin B's avatar

My mind immediately pictured an anthropomorphic freight train throwing things down the railroad tracks haha

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Aleksander Constantinoropolous's avatar

This is pure spiritual jiu-jitsu. Boldness as the antidote to spiritual entropy.

That line “indecisiveness is death” isn't just a warning—it’s a prophecy. Every day we defer the call to choose, we’re letting algorithms, parents, and fear write our story.

You reminded me that mistakes are the tuition we pay to drop out of default reality and build our own.

“Your nervous system is your compass. Use it.”

Grateful for this wake-up bell.

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Dan Draper's avatar

With 3.8 Mil Mistake you mean Kortex? Please tell me thats not correct

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Blackwolf's avatar

Thanks for your personal examples on making bold decisions and the debrief on values/energy/resources. We need to see more of this. "Idle mode" is the enemy 🐺

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Nikhil's avatar

That’s a great post and it really gives a good perspective of everyone’s everyday life.

Just to highlight about the correctiveness of the sentence “I owned except for a bad of clothes” should be this “I owned except for a bag of clothes”.

Sorry about that but I love doing proofreading haha.

If anyone needs any help with proofreading, please feel free to DM me 😊

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Nihal Kurth's avatar

“I had gained the priceless clarity of what I want.” Sometimes what we want comes through what we don’t want. Super nice read! Thanks!

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Investing Lawyer's avatar

People on average can make their first, individual decision around age 20.

Everything else is just a layed path In front of them.

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Lachie Colledge's avatar

Leaving medical school propelled me to meditation, language discoveries, and living a happy purposeful life. It was totally worth it.

But I’m not done. New challenges present every day that I’ve got to make the most of. 🚀🚀

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Nick Hashemi's avatar

True pioneer Dan Koe :) I'm walking the same path, who cares really, we all walk some path, but the most important is to( already at early age if possible) have an anti-vision; what you do NOT want to, be, do and become. That (as you mention) is the most important decision (s) in your life. I didn't have that vision; my childhood was war and bombings, so maybe unconsciously I chose to live in peace, within and without, which I do today, and when you are at this point, nothing else matters. Sure, you want to have a purpose, which I do have and chase it. But, I chase it in peace nowadays and the money was never primary for me and never will be. Thank you for this reminder Dan, keep leading and show everyone the (right) way...

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Alfonso Villa Acuña's avatar

You never cease to preach good advice:

"The decision of all decisions is to reject the default path.

To answer the call to adventure. To finally begin writing the first chapter. To leave the tutorial and start level one.

That's when your life starts."

Thanks, Dan.

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Georgia Patrick's avatar

What a cliff hanger! The story of the $3 million down and bounce up in a fraction of time will be FANTASTIC! That's what adventure storytelling looks like. What happened? And then what? And then how did our hero find clarity?

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